The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 163 Disguised as a vendor in the black market, some willing take the bait.

Qian Jin made a very good profit after venturing into the ghost market.

They received nearly seven thousand yuan in cash alone, plus even more in grain coupons, meat coupons, and the like, all piled up in stacks.

There were also various jewelry and small pendants made of gold, silver, and jade, but not many antiques or cultural relics. It is estimated that the policy guidance in previous years made ordinary people hesitant to take out these things.

Qian Jin was amazed at how well he had made his fortune in the Ghost Market.

His original intention was to sell various mall goods to make it easier for him to profit from the chaos later, but he ended up making so much money!
Keep in mind that he spent less than 5,000 yuan on shopping in the mall, but in 1978 he recouped his investment with cash alone.

The only problem is that venturing into the ghost market is risky!
The next day, Qian Jin disguised himself again and took the goods into the hold, where a foreigner came to question him.

Fortunately, he knew a few words of English and managed to give a vague answer, so nothing went wrong at the time.

But out of caution, he did not stay to do business and packed his things to leave.

Back home, he thought it over carefully and concluded that the ghost market was chaotic and foreigners' territory, and it would be dangerous for him to expand his business there.

Good business easily attracts the attention of other stall owners.

The foreign stall owners were all shrewd and could easily detect anything unusual in his words and actions.

Therefore, this business cannot be done all the time.

But at this point, we can quote a Western proverb: when God closes a door, he opens a window.

After realizing he couldn't enter the Ghost Market, Qian Jin thought of infiltrating the Black Market instead.

He had encountered Malaysian Chinese in the black market of Kapas. So, at this time, when the foreigners were holding a big black market, it wouldn't be strange for a foreign merchant to appear in the black market, would it?
Having figured this out, Qian Jin decided to take action early the next morning.

Although spring has officially arrived according to the solar term, the coastal city is still chilly, especially in the early morning hours.

The sea breeze in Jiagang swept across the empty dock like a knife, and the midnight fog swirled under the dim streetlights, casting an eerie veil over the warehouse area piled with wooden crates and sacks.

Qian Jin hid in an empty warehouse and turned on a small mirror with a backlight to check his disguise one last time.

The golden wig perfectly covered his black hair, and the silicone headgear shaped like an old white man clung tightly to his head, changing his appearance once again.

He pouted and gestured with his hand: "Nobody knows more about the black market than me."

“China!”

He still sports the same look as the future Trump, but he's wearing a cotton mask as a cover, otherwise people would notice that he always has a blank expression.

With everything ready, he fastened his life-saving gear to his waist and picked up the two large woven bags at his feet.

The bag contained the same few items that he always sold well at the ghost market:
More than a hundred fountain pens, forty or fifty watches, more than ten alarm clocks, dozens of Swiss Army knives, hundreds of windproof lighters, two pressure cookers, two radios and a tape recorder, etc.

In addition, there are various candies, pastries, and even drinks printed with English and Russian.

These items are all highly coveted pieces in today's market.

Following his memory, he crept along the wall toward the black market. It was the first time he had entered the black market as a foreigner, and his heart raced with each step.

There are people watching the black market in Jiagang from the shadows, and they will come up to investigate when a stranger appears.

However, Qian Jin knew that these people were just bullies who preyed on the weak and feared the strong.

Their checks on unfamiliar faces were not for the purpose of maintaining order or orderly operation of the black market in Jiagang.

Instead, they took the opportunity to make some money.

Otherwise, when the black market in Jiagang was infiltrated by official forces last time, they didn't give any advance warning or negotiate on-site.

On the contrary, as soon as the city management team showed up, they disappeared without a trace. Qian Jin even suspected that these people had some kind of underhanded deal with the city management team and that they were the ones who sold the black market.

However, the city management team is also a pile of shit.

Their raids on the black market also had ulterior motives; they weren't genuinely trying to crack down on speculation and profiteering, but simply to make extra money and skim profits.

Qian Jin had inquired privately and found out that the city management team would come to the black market in Jiagang every one or two months to sweep around, and at other times many of their members would even come to the black market to do business.

As he approached the area where the black market was located, two middle-aged men appeared like ghosts:

"Stop! I've never seen you before."

"Where did you come from? Comrade, take off your mask. Why are you hiding in front of us? Hmph, I don't think you're a good person!"

Qian Jin removed his mask, revealing his face in the beam of their flashlights, then quickly put it back on, deliberately speaking in a distorted, translator's tone:
"Hey guys, I'm Irish, I'm Old Trump, and I want to do business with the proletariat..."

The two middle-aged men gasped and exchanged a glance, staring at each other in disbelief.

One of them stepped forward, pulled off his mask, and looked at him closely. Qian Jin was afraid that the mask would give him away, so he put it back on.

But this time, when the two saw him clearly, they gasped in shock once more.

"Damn, what a foreign devil!"

"Why are there foreign devils here?"

Qian Jin pointed to the Angel passenger ship on the distant west coast and said, "I'm from there, brothers. I've heard you can do business here."

“What a coincidence, buddy, I have some good stuff. Yes, really good stuff, the kind of good stuff you proletarians need.”

The two middle-aged people looked at each other, staring at each other for a moment:

"Hey, these foreigners even understand Chinese?"

Qian Jin's pretentious explanation, with his index fingers raised and waving, was reminiscent of Trump's mannerisms:

"No, no, no, it's normal, comrade, it's normal. I'm a university foreign language professor, a professor who specializes in Chinese..."

"What are you teaching?" The two of them circled around him like they were watching a giant monkey.

Qian Jin realized that this wouldn't work; it would expose too much risk to him.

So he forced his way in, saying, "I'm here to do business with you guys, comrades, doing business, okay? Don't block my way, okay?"

The two hesitated for a moment.

One of them muttered, "This foreign devil is a bourgeois, we are his enemy, we can't let him into the black market."

Another person winked at their companion: "Who cares about this or that, those foreigners have money!"

As he spoke, he reached out his hand and said, "You can go into the black market, we have plenty of money here, but you have to pay an entry fee to work here."

"Ten yuan, ten yuan for a job!"

Qian Jin was eager to get rid of the two men, but he knew he couldn't readily agree to their demands, or they would take advantage of him.

He bargained with the two of them and finally settled on an admission fee of six yuan.

The two were quite happy.

There is no entry fee at all in the black market of Jiagang; you can make money for free, no matter how much or how little!

Qian Jin shook off the two men and entered the black market.

The black market has grown even larger.

At the entrance, hundreds of people were crammed into an alley less than five meters wide and twenty meters long, like a group of silent ghosts, exchanging items and glances under the dim light of kerosene lamps and flashlights.

Some people carried bamboo baskets full of seafood, some had pork wrapped in newspaper in their arms, and others squatted on the ground with several bottles of wine with foreign labels in front of them.

Having been stared at by those two vagrants before, Qian Jinting was worried about being stared at again if he entered the black market, so he didn't go inside and simply stayed at the entrance of the black market.

This way, if there's a problem, it will be easy for him to run away.

However, when he laid out the plastic sheet to prepare for business, he found that the situation was not as bad as he had imagined.

The vagrants who guarded the gate were mainly responsible for keeping an eye on people, so they were the first to discover Qian Jin's foreign identity.

Black market customers mainly look at the goods; they don't pay attention to the people.

With the plastic sheet spread out, Qian Jin began taking the goods out.

People around noticed that he was carrying two large bags, obviously containing a lot of goods, and they came over to take a closer look.

First, the stationery was brought out.

Pencils and pens tied with rubber bands were placed on a plastic sheet, immediately attracting many people from the vicinity.

The pencils and pens here come in bundles of ten, and the supply is plentiful.

"The new Hero 100 fountain pen that was just released on New Year's Day this year?" A middle-aged man wearing glasses squeezed to the front, his voice trembling. "So many new Hero 100s? This is a good thing, absolutely a good thing!"

This pen is China's national pen.

It was originally a copy of the Parker 51 fountain pen, featuring a single ballpoint design, a 12K gold nib, and a resin barrel. Due to insufficient craftsmanship, the Hero 100 was not popular at this time, as it had a stiff writing experience and would cause problems after writing for a long time.

However, the manufacturer has iterated on its technology, which is why the bespectacled man excitedly called it a 'new model'.

This is indeed a newly launched 'new' Hero 100, and also a classic model in the history of the Hero 100.

This pen will win the first place in the national industry quality evaluation in 1979.

It is so classic that it has a long-standing fan base, and even 28 years later, there are replicas of it in online stores.

In other words, the Hero 100 that Qian Jin is now preparing to sell is indeed a 28-year-old product, but its design is exactly the same as the classic 1978 model.

Knowing how popular this pen was, Qian Jin immediately asked, "Ten yuan, no receipt needed!"

The dozen or so guests who had been drawn in immediately erupted in excitement.

The bespectacled man practically lunged at the stall: "The state-run store sells it for 12 yuan and requires industrial coupons! You're really only selling it for ten yuan?"

State-run stores not only sold things at high prices, but they were also impossible to buy.

The production of the new Hero 100 fountain pen is limited, and the college entrance examination and the craze for studying are sweeping across China, making stationery a hot commodity.

"Ten yuan." Qian Jin took out another handful and placed them on the plastic sheet. "Buy more, it'll be cheaper."

The situation spiraled completely out of control.

The sixty fountain pens on display were sold out in just a few dozen seconds.

Qian Jin was clutching a handful of crumpled banknotes, along with a few grain coupons and cloth coupons that had been forcibly stuffed into his hand.

Before he could even catch his breath, the watch he pulled out along with the pen sparked a new wave of frenzy.

"A foreign watch! Brand new!" Someone shone a flashlight on the watch and examined it closely. "Xiao Liu, come here. Didn't your boyfriend want a watch?"

"How much?" someone immediately came up and asked.

This time, all the watches Qian Jin brought out had English versions, so he sold them as foreign watches.

Anyway, these days very few people know anything about foreign watches.

Of course, he didn't cheat anyone. The quality of these watches is no worse than that of foreign watches, after all, the mechanical technology has been upgraded many times over.

Qian Jin shone his flashlight on the gleaming watches, the reflections from the dials making it hard to look away.

But these watches have novel and beautiful designs, making it hard not to stare at them.

As a result, many people suffered.

As for inquiries about prices, they came in an endless stream.

Qian Jin's response was simple: "All the watches are foreign watches. This is an Orix, this is an Omega, this is a Teixeira, and they're all priced at 200 yuan!"

These are all basic watches, but mechanical watches are generally much more expensive than electronic watches.

There are quite a few knowledgeable people in the black market.

A woman glanced at the sparkling diamond hour markers on the watch face, and without saying a word, pulled out a handkerchief pouch and shook out a stack of cash.

Qian Jin noticed that she was wearing a gold ring on her finger, which was definitely something that would bring trouble in the current climate.

This woman is quite something.

Buying a watch for 200 yuan makes many people hesitate.

Most domestically produced watches are now cheaper. For example, all-steel watches from brands like Hongqi, Seagull, Diamond, and Shuangling are around 100 yuan.

But you need to use industrial vouchers.

Qian Jin once saw a domestically produced Roman watch in a department store selling for 185 yuan, which required 60 industrial coupons.

In the black market, an industrial coupon can be sold for 50 cents to a dollar.

But those who have visited the Friendship Store know that Qian Jin's prices are not expensive. The Friendship Store sells foreign brand products, including many foreign watches.

Those watches are ridiculously expensive, starting at four or five hundred yuan, and some even cost two or three thousand yuan, which is outrageous for ordinary people these days.

So as more and more people gathered around, the foreign watches began to be sold intermittently.

Qian Jin continued to take out goods.

As the radio appeared, another commotion erupted in the crowd: "A radio! My God, it's a three-band radio!"

Just as Qian Jin set out the Panasonic radio, a man dressed in a Zhongshan suit who looked like an official squeezed in: "Comrade, do you have an invoice?"

The surroundings were silent for a few seconds, then some people burst into laughter.

Need an invoice on the black market?
What do you think?

Qian Jin shrugged: "Sorry, buddy, these are all Japanese goods. I brought them over from there. How could they possibly have invoices?"

He pointed out to sea. Finally, someone noticed his appearance and exclaimed, "He's a foreigner!"

Upon hearing this, even more people stared intently at Qian Jin.

But no one shone a flashlight in his face.

This is prohibited on the black market.

The official picked up his phone and looked at it over and over, then lowered his voice and said, "Eighty yuan, I'll take it right away."

As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of ten-yuan bills from his inner pocket.

Qian Jin smiled and shook his head: "NONONO, my friend, this is Panasonic, this is Sony, this is Sanyo, these are all world-renowned products."

“I know it costs eighty yuan. Radios in your country can cost eighty yuan, but these can’t. I’m sorry, my friend, these were very expensive when I bought them, so I’m pricing them at 200 yuan now.”

No bargaining!

The whispers continued among the crowd.

Qian Jin then took out more candy to sell.

The emergence of small items caused transactions to surge uncontrollably, like a floodgate being opened.

Large items can also be sold.

Because his asking price was indeed not high.

It's important to know that the black market is not a place to find bargains; on the contrary, many goods here are much more expensive than at the market price.

After all, goods sold on the black market either do not require tickets or have no restrictions on purchase qualifications, so prices are naturally higher than under normal circumstances.

News of Qian Jin's large-scale sale of foreign goods quickly spread throughout the black market, attracting more and more customers, including many knowledgeable individuals.

His two woven bags deflated at a visible speed, and his pockets and coat pockets were stuffed with money and ration coupons.

Just as he was busy, several burly men pushed through the crowd and squeezed forward.

Qian Jin paused for a moment.

He quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed several burly men in military overcoats standing on the periphery of the crowd, coldly watching the bustling trading scene.

He wasn't too afraid of this.

Without three points, how could one ascend Liangshan?
He was carrying not only a gun but also a high-powered flashlight; the combination of the two made him a nuclear weapon in the black market.
A high-powered flashlight can blind someone, and a firearm can kill them.

If anyone tries anything against him, he'll turn his flashlight on full power and shine it in their eyes, then fire a couple of shots. Even a fighting machine like Zhang Aijun would have to lie on the ground and behave himself.

So he continued selling goods methodically.

The crowd that gathered around grew larger and larger.

Then, after he sold a tape recorder, the crowd suddenly parted like Moses parting the Red Sea, and a man in a leather jacket with a slicked-back hairstyle strolled over.

The man was wearing a military green cotton coat and large sunglasses, and he was twirling two shiny walnuts in his hands. He looked very stylish.

But Qian Jin recognized the guy's identity at a glance.

Jia Youcheng!
This is Jia Youcheng, whom he once swindled!
This guy was also wearing makeup, and he even had a scar on his face. He looked pretty tough, which made Qian Jin laugh.

"The foreign comrades are doing good business." Jia Youcheng stopped in front of the stall, his voice not loud but instantly silencing the surroundings. "In this area of ​​Jiagang, shouldn't newcomers pay their respects to the local authorities first?"

Qian Jin felt the gazes around him were piercing him.

He slowly stood up and said, "Hey buddy, are you the boss here?"

Jia Youcheng didn't say anything, just chuckled, and suddenly reached out and took off Qian Jin's mask.

His men raised their flashlights in response, and the bright light shone on Qian Jin's face.

A murmur arose from the crowd.

They could clearly see Qian Jin's fair skin, blond hair, and his appearance as a foreign old man.

Qian Jin, caught off guard, quickly put on his mask: "Hey, sir, what do you want?"

Jia Youcheng squinted and suddenly said in English, "Welcome to HaiBinCity."

Qian Jin's heart skipped a beat.

He knew that Jia Youcheng understood English, and spoke it much better than him, a college student who barely passed the CET-4 (College English Test Band 4).

Fortunately, he had prepared for this, so he replied, "Thank you, Bro, but I'm Irish, we don't speak English."

Jia Youcheng was taken aback for a moment, then revealed a mysterious smile and switched to Chinese, saying, "Brother Te's Chinese is quite good, you even understand 'paying respects to the boss'?"

Before Qian Jin could answer, he casually picked up the last Swiss Army knife on the stall, tossed it in his hand, and exclaimed, "Good stuff, multi-purpose, you foreign devils really have some extraordinary brains."

"How much is this? I'll pay five dollars."

This is a naked provocation.

The Swiss Army knife is priced at fifteen and is very popular.

In addition, this last Swiss Army knife was also spotted by a young man just now.

Qian Jin saw the young man who wanted to buy the military knife huddled in the crowd, angry but unable to speak out.

Upon seeing this, he readily said, "If this boss likes it, then I'll give it to you as a token of friendship."

Jia Youcheng was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Interesting!"

Then he abruptly stopped smiling, narrowed his eyes, and said, "But isn't this gift a little too light?"

"China is a land of etiquette. When visiting a friend's home for the first time, you should bring a generous gift. Is it really acceptable to just bring a small, versatile knife?"

His eyes were fixed on the television.

His greed was completely undisguised.

Qian Jincai was reluctant to give him a television set, but knowing the man's greed, he quickly came up with a plan to get rid of him.

While pondering this, he waved his hand and said, "Boss, let's find a place to talk for a bit?"

Jia Youcheng nodded to the burly men around him.

The burly men, working together, began to shoo people away: "We're not doing business here anymore, we're not doing business here."

"Gentlemen, please make way, please cooperate and make way."

"You think you're so great? Get the hell out of here!"

The originally dense crowd of onlookers was immediately cleared away.

Qian Jin hadn't expected Jia Youcheng to be so domineering in the black market of Jia Port. It seemed that this guy possessed more power than he had anticipated.

After his men had left, Jia Youcheng unwrapped a piece of Russian butter candy, popped it into his mouth, and said slowly, "What are we talking about? We can talk now."

"Hmm, capitalism does have its merits. Your candy is quite delicious, fragrant and sweet."

Qian Jin said, "I want to talk about big business. I have a lot of things, a lot of things like that."

“But I’m only staying in your city for three days, and then I’m going to your capital.”

"So I'm here at the black market today not to sell goods, but..."

He gestured as if counting money.

After understanding his meaning, Jia Youcheng swiftly removed his sunglasses, revealing his cunning and shrewd nature.
"Are you looking for a big buyer?"

Qian Jin nodded: "Yes, you could say that. I want to find a partner to make money together."

Jia Youcheng said domineeringly, "You've been looking for me. Tell me, how do you get rich?"

Qian Jin said, "Two options, buddy."

"One option is if you have enough money, then you can act as a wholesaler and take all the goods I have."

“One option is if you don’t have enough money. In that case, we can cooperate. I will provide the goods and you will bring people to sell them. We will split the profits in half.”

Upon hearing this, Jia Youcheng's eyes darted around.

His first reaction was suspicion: "Huh? You have a lot of goods? Are you really going to cooperate with me?"

Qian Jin said, "Of course, of course. If I didn't really want to cooperate with you, why would I talk to you about these things? Would it be a waste of time?"

Jia Youcheng was still suspicious: "Do you know what a delaying tactic is? I think you're using a delaying tactic."

Qian Jin said, "Buddy, I've studied Chinese and I can be a translator, but I don't really understand your Chinese culture. Please tell me, what is a delaying tactic?"

Jia Youcheng translated this word.

Qian Jin then laughed: "You think I'm afraid of you? Am I afraid of you here?"

"How about this, you can hurt me, kidnap me, or do whatever you want to me, it doesn't matter, you can do whatever you want to me."

"That will definitely alarm your country's security forces. Let's see how they punish you and me!"

"Perhaps I should also tell you something: the reason I understand your Chinese so well, and the reason I'm going to your capital, is because I have a relative who serves as an ambassador to your country!"

These words stunned Jia Youcheng.

People today are easily fooled because of the limited speed of information transmission and their limited education and perspective.

Jia Youcheng was not an ordinary citizen, and therefore he had no way of verifying the truth of these words.

In particular, Qian Jin calmly gave him a name: "Brendan Brosnan, this is my younger brother. He is currently a first secretary on Tianze Road in Chaoyang District of your capital."

"His boss is Claude Arnault, man. If you follow your country's diplomatic news, you should know this name. He's our country's ambassador to China!"

"So, buddy, you think I'm afraid of you? Buddy, I'm just selling some things here. I haven't cheated anyone or hurt anyone. Even if I get arrested by your police department, they won't punish me. I know that very well."

"Actually, I've done this before. I did it in Shanghai last time. I've already scouted it out. Otherwise, why would I have brought so many guys with me this time?"

He knew that Jia Youcheng would not investigate his identity.

After all, the other party was just a worker foreman who made a living through shady dealings.

However, he wasn't afraid if Jia Youcheng really investigated, because the names he gave were real people.

Claude Arnault is the current French ambassador to China. He took office in 1975 and has served in that post ever since.

Brendan Brosnan was his first secretary; these were names he had seen in the newspapers and memorized, names that were usually useless but now proved invaluable.

Qian Jin's words were logically correct, and he provided names as evidence, which greatly reduced Jia Youcheng's suspicions.

He walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, then lowered his voice and said, "Go to warehouse number 117 tomorrow at midnight. I'll be there with the money waiting for you."

After saying that, he put the military knife in his pocket and turned to leave.

His men glared menacingly at the crowd before leaving.

Qian Jin breathed a sigh of relief, but found that his heart was still beating faster.

The crowd that had been dispersed earlier swarmed back in, some continuing to buy goods while others kindly reminded him:
"Foreign comrade, you'd better be careful. The man who just approached you is one of the most powerful people in our city. He has many subordinates and powerful connections in the government. If you have a falling out with him, you'd better not get off the ship."

Qian Jin publicly thanked him.

He cursed Jia Youcheng in his heart, calling him an idiot.

Needless to say, this "kind person" was arranged by Jia Youcheng. It seemed like he was giving him a friendly reminder, but in reality, he was helping Jia Youcheng brag.

He is also 'most powerful', 'has many subordinates', and 'has powerful connections in officialdom'.

Qian Jin knew this was all nonsense.

However, Jia Youcheng does have money, and this time he needs to find a way to swindle it into his hands.

With most of the goods sold out, he knew he was attracting a lot of attention, so he sped up the process, practically giving away the remaining smaller items at half price.

The stall was emptied in less than five minutes.

Qian Jin packed up his bag but didn't make any purchases. Instead, he quickly left the black market, taking seven or eight detours before realizing that someone was still following him.

So he simply set up an ambush, and when the three people who were following him caught up, he turned on a powerful flashlight from around the corner.

Let's go full power!
The three were frantically searching for someone when they suddenly found the sun.

They screamed and covered their eyes, squatting on the ground.

Qian Jin ignored what was to come, immediately turned off his flashlight and continued running. He made his way past several warehouses to make sure no one was following him before removing his wig, wig, and glasses.

He changed back into his usual clothes in the warehouse and returned to the workers' new village.

Wei Qinghuan stayed in a tenement building tonight; he was all alone in his apartment in the workers' new village.

Qian Jin turned on the desk lamp and tallied up tonight's earnings—

Excluding all kinds of tickets and certificates, the cash alone amounted to 8,467.82 yuan.

He almost made himself a millionaire!
No wonder his stall attracted Jia Youcheng's attention; his business was too big!
Next, he needed to figure out how to swindle Jia Youcheng out of a sum of money.

This guy deserves to be scammed.

(End of this chapter)